Category: VR Developer Nanodegree program

This lifelong learner started in Kenya, graduated from Yale, and then she discovered Virtual Reality with Udacity!

With Udacity’s Intersect 2018 conference fast approaching, everyone here is abuzz with this year’s theme: Lifelong Learning. So you can imagine our excitement when we spoke to Michelle Mboya, a student who described herself as a “chronic lifelong learner” within the first minutes of talking to her! Michelle is one of life’s “doers.” She is proactive in pursuing things that interest her, and relentless in learning new skills. As her experience will show you, this approach to learning opens up new opportunities and career paths, even when you’re still working out which path you want to take.

We just unlocked a new Free Preview of our VR Developer Nanodegree program! Explore your future in VR, today!

It’s tempting to think of Virtual Reality as cutting-edge technology. As an emerging technology. Even as a transformational technology. If this is what you think of when you think of VR, you’re exactly right, because it’s all these things, and more. But it’s also instructive to think of VR not just as a technology, but as a medium. This may seem less intuitive, because VR is not a book. It’s not a play. It’s not an album, or a painting. And yet, we use it to tell stories. From a strictly dictionary-centric standpoint, “A medium refers to the materials that are used to create a work of art.” Unquestionably, creators are using VR to create art.

We recently featured a story about Kristin Dragos, a former elementary school English teacher in Phoenix, AZ, who turned her interest in technology into an incredible new VR career with the start of her own independent game studio. We were so intrigued by her story, we just had to find out more. Here’s what we learned!

How one Udacity student built her self-confidence to face the unknown

As an elementary school english teacher in Phoenix, AZ, Kristin was in constant search of new ways to further engage students through the use of technology. But she didn’t think of herself as a “technical” person. That role belonged to her husband, a software developer. All the same, she was surprisingly proactive on her student’s behalf. In her spare time, she started both a coding and a robotics club. But her motivation was rooted in curiosity—for her, technology was more of a hobby. She never considered a future for herself in the tech industry.

“I had this false perception that I wasn’t very good at math. But, I realized over time that computer science is really less about math and more about logic—which I’m good at!”

from the experts at Samsung VR

The Worldwide Semiannual Augmented and Virtual Reality Spending Guide from IDC forecasts worldwide revenues for the augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) market to reach $13.9 billion in 2017, an increase of 130.5% over the $6.1 billion spent in 2016. That’s incredible growth for an already-established industry. Why so much excitement? Because while the technology is already here, the content stream is only just starting to flow. Everyone from customers to investors to creators knows the best is still to come.

Here at Samsung, we’ve watched a tremendous amount of VR, and we know what makes for great content. Our 360 video service, SamsungVR, is already seeing a steady stream of innovative content with more videos from brands, studios and independent creators alike added to the platform every day.

Right now in this industry, the ability to create compelling, creative content is THE competitive differentiator—both for any individual pursuing a role in the field, and for any brand working to establish a presence in the VR/AR space. Here are 4 tips on how to do it right!

We are very excited to offer you a whole new way to enter Virtual Reality!

Starting today, and continuing until Saturday, June 11, at 12 PM PDT, you are invited to a special free preview of our VR Developer Nanodegree program! Enter our groundbreaking classroom experience, access the content, and even do the program’s first project!*

The virtual reality software industry took in approximately $407 million in 2016, and that number is predicted to climb as high as $14 billion by 2020. This kind of growth means job prospects are very good for those considering the field of virtual reality. We’d like to help you take advantage of these opportunities!

Download “Getting Started with a Career in Virtual Reality” today! Just enter your email address below.

Getting started with a career in a nascent field like VR isn’t exactly straightforward. There are no established paths to follow. To succeed, you need to empower yourself with as much relevant information as you can find, so you can make informed decisions about how to proceed.

We’ve partnered with the team at Paysa, the online career advisor that helps employees discover their true market value, to bring you this exclusive guide to Getting Started with a Career in Virtual Reality. It’s full of actionable insights you’re not going to find anywhere else! To access the guide, just enter your email address below: